The Warlock's Calling
by xXTheDragonRiderXx
Summary: A sorcerer comes and kills Igraine. Uther, to protect his son Arthur, tells Balinor to flee. Balinor does what he wishes and flees to Ealdor. He raises his two sons and ward, Merlin, Arthur and Freya, and then the sorcerer comes back and tries kill him. It is time for Merlin to answer the calling to his destiny. AU. Mild Freylin. No Slash.
1. Chapter 1 (Prologue)

The Warlock's Calling

**Category: **AU**  
Characters/Pairings: **Arwen, Freylin, Hunith/Balinor, and various others**  
Rating: **K+ **  
Summary: **A sorcerer comes and kills Igraine. Uther, to protect his son Arthur, tells Balinor to flee. Balinor does what he wishes and flees to Ealdor. He raises his two sons and ward, Merlin, Arthur and Freya, and then the sorcerer comes back and kills him. Now, it is up to Arthur to protect the two people he cares about the most, and for Merlin to answer the calling to his destiny **  
Disclaimer: **I don't own Merlin.

**Author's Note: **Well, here's the other Merlin story that the plot bunnies on have been eating me up. So… this is my third story that I'm working on *Rolling eyes*. Can't stop, can I? Ah well, I've done up to 5 at once so I should be able to find time for this one as well… I hope.

_**Prologue **_

Balinor went down the halls of Camelot, trying desperately to fight against Azure's invading forces, with Uther by his side. They were losing though, when suddenly, the forces retreated.

"What?" Balinor gasped but it was Uther who realized what was happening and his fear grew.

"Arthur!" He gasped. The two friends looked at each other and then ran where they saw Queen Igraine standing tall, protecting her son from Azure. Azure, on the other hand, looked at her with those pitiless black eyes.

"_Kill her."_ He intoned and Balinor with a cry of "No!" launched himself at him but he was too late by just a millisecond. Queen Igraine fell to the ground, her eyes wide open and unseeing.

"No!" It was Uther this time.

"_Fly Back." _Balinor shouted and Azure was lifted off his feet and he fell, but he was still conscious, and he glared at Balinor one last time before disappearing.

"I will come back." His voice hissed and Uther looked up at Balinor and they rushed to the unmoving queen.

"Igraine?" Uther whispered as Balinor moved over to Arthur. He saw that the infant was okay, just scared and he picked him up and walked over to the queen. Balinor slowly saw down next to the still queen and he felt a tear rolling down his cheek.

A while later Uther looked at Balinor. "Balinor, take Arthur and run. Don't come back, keep him safe. Keep him away from Azure; don't tell me where you are. _Please._"

Balinor was torn, his duty was to his friend, but he also knew that Uther needed him. "Uther…"

Uther shook his head. "Go Balinor. Go, flee. I don't care. Just take Arthur and go, don't let Azure find him. It's the only way to keep him safe and… and Igraine would have wanted that."

Balinor slowly nodded, "I'll do my best old friend, I promise." He said and Uther smiled then grabbed a gold cloak.

"Take this Balinor," he said looking into his friend's eyes, "I'm not sure what I'm going to do after the shock settles, but you need to get out of here. _Hurry."_

Balinor looked at his friend and saw he was serious and wrapped the cloak around him then looked back at the grieving king. "Good bye, my old Friend." He whispered, and then he turned and fled down the stairs and into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two_**

_~15 years later~_

"Arthur!"

"Merlin!"

"You stole my name prat!"

"Well, you _are _a clotpole!"

"You don't even know what it means!"

"Will you two be quiet?"

Balinor smiled as he watched his sons and ward argue in the tree that they had climb. It had been fifteen years since he had fled from Camelot with Arthur in his arms to Ealdor, and fourteen since he and Hunith had married and twelve that Merlin had been born. It had been roughly nine since Merlin and Freya had met and seven when she had become his ward, although she was practically his daughter.

"You're reading again." Arthur's voice drifted from the tree and Balinor heard a rather loud and dramatic sigh from the girl.

"Not at the moment Arthur. Merlin can I have an apple?"

"Sure Freya," Merlin's gentle voice said and Balinor smiled and pulled up some of the weeds while listening to his children. Balinor heard the tale-tell murmur of a whispered incation and he let out a sigh. No matter how much he had tried to stop his son, Merlin always used magic to help Freya and Arthur although he didn't use it around anyone else other then himself, Hunith and Alator.

"You're getting better at this Merlin, this is delicious."

"Really? Can I have one Merlin?" Arthur's voice drifted down to Balinor.

"No." Merlin's slightly gleeful voice told Balinor that he was not letting Arthur have an apple. "And I'm not giving you mine either."

"That's not fair!" Arthur said indigently. "Why not?" He added and Balinor could almost see his son fake-pouting at Merlin.

"Because you stole my word." Merlin replied smugly, "Now if you give it back to me then maybe…"

"Oh you two…" Freya sighed. "Arthur, here."

"Thanks Freya!" Arthur said happily and Balinor heard the smile in his voice directed at Freya and he almost knew that Merlin was pouting at Freya.

"You betrayed me!" He said mockingly. "I'm going to get you." He leaned over in the branch and Freya let out a giggle and Balinor smiled.

"No Merlin, my almighty warlock, I only gave our dear brother what you refused to privileged with, and frankly it is worst then betrayal, being denied your delicious apples." Freya said and Balinor heard her smile.

Balinor knew that Freya and Merlin were special to the other but he wasn't really that bothered. They hadn't realized it yet. He smiled as the leaves rustled and his two youngest dropped out and landed lightly. Well, that translated into Merlin landed lightly and Freya stumbled but he caught her before she fell.

"Hi Dad!" Merlin said brightly and grinned at the dragonlord.

Freya smiled slightly and elbowed Merlin. "Arthur's stuck," she said lightly.

Merlin looked at her faintly surprised and then at the tree where a very annoyed Arthur sat, stuck between two branches. "Hullo prat." He said cheekily.

"Hello _Mer_lin," Arthur said his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Would you _please _help me out of this situation? It is rather tiring to be hanging by one's leg."

Merlin flashed his key grin and climbed up the tree quickly and sat next two the older boy lightly. "Of course Arthur," he said smiling innocently then his eyes flashed a brilliant golden color and Arthur fell down and landed on his head.

"Ouch. Thanks Merlin." Arthur muttered rubbing his head and glaring at the boy in the tree. Freya smiled at them and lightly brushed her hand on his shoulder and her eyes flashed gold. "Thank you Freya." Arthur said smiling at her and Balinor shook his head, hiding his grin.

"You two need to be more careful," the dragonlord said although he wasn't very stern about it although he wanted to make sure they were more careful about using their magic. "Imagine if someone else saw you other then your mother, me, Arthur or Alator. Then what would happen?"

The two magic users exchanged glances trying to figure out how to answer the dragonlord's question. "Wipe their memory and run?" Merlin suggested. "Well, first ask them to keep it a secret and then if they refuse then wipe their memory and run."

Balinor sighed in frustration. "You could always avoid using it around other people in the first place." He said and looked his son in the eye. "Here, help me with the potatoes." He added and threw a potato at the warlock and Merlin caught it quickly.

"Why is it that Merlin is normally a clumsy idiot most of the time but then he can catch everything easily the next?" Arthur grumbled and Balinor smiled.

"I was clumsy when I was younger." He said lightly and tossed the potato toward Freya who caught it deftly and knelt by the peas.

"Really? You?" Arthur and Merlin said in sync and shock and Balinor nodded and then frowned as the potato refused to budge.

"But… your more graceful then Alator!" Arthur said in bewilderment. "Well, and Merlin whenever he uses his gifts. I've never figured out how he can be so clumsy whenever he's not using his gifts but then so graceful when he is."

Balinor smiled at him as Merlin looked up confused. "I am?" His youngest son questioned.

Arthur nodded at his brother somewhat firmly. "I feel almost sorry for the person who'll get on your bad side."

Merlin frowned slightly. "I never knew… my gift is almost like a part of me by now."

It was Balinor who answered his son. "You've been able to do magic since the day you were born Merlin," Merlin's eyes widened slightly and Freya looked at the dragonlord sharply. Balinor remembered in the back of his mind that she was once a druid and he wondered if she knew something. "I've told you that you are a warlock but I've never told you how long you've had your powers. Freya is going to be a formable sorcerers, or a witch possibly," he nodded to his ward and she smiled, "I'm not sure if she's always possessed the ability or if she had to be trained. But you Merlin… I honestly have no idea. You'll probably be even more powerful then Alator or I. Your powers are already like Arthur's skill with a sword."

Arthur smiled slightly while Merlin blinked. "I never thought about my magic that way." He said looking confused.

Freya on the other hand was frowning. "I wish I could remember the whole prophecy…" she muttered.

"What prophecy?" Both boys turned to the youngest and she smiled slightly at them then she moved and sat down next to Merlin.

"There's supposed to be a king and a warlock, I think, his name is Emrys who's destined to protect him but that's all I can remember." She let out a sigh and banged her fist against her forehead and Merlin grabbed her hand before she could do any damage. "Anyway, Arthur's definitely not a king so its not likely for you to be Emrys. You're probably just going to be a powerful sorcerer."

"That's most likely," a different voice said and the prince, warlock and sorceress looked up and big grins lit their faces as Balinor smiled and stood up. "But you never know," he continued cheerfully.

Balinor smiled and clapped the man on the back. "Hello Alator, how about we go into the woods so that we can practice?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Now… should I get a beta? Oh yeah, and this story is going to be slightly fast paced at the moment, or at least until I get to the parts that I really want to write… :P


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Two_**

Merlin smiled as he walked through the woods with Arthur on his right side and Freya on his left. They were a little ahead of the adults as they were eager to practice their various skills, Arthur with his swordsmanship with Balinor and Freya and Merlin with Alator.

"So, Dad was telling you to _not _use your magic and now he wants you to?" Arthur said randomly looking at the younger boy, "I still don't understand why it's forbidden in Camelot, I mean can't Uther understand that it can be used for good?"

Merlin shrugged and considered his answer for a moment then replied. "It's said that he lost his wife and son to magic. And Ealdor is to close to the borders for us to use it in the open and be safe. Someone would probably go to Uther and tell."

Arthur sighed. "I wish you didn't have to live hiding your magic. It's very beautiful. Well, once you get over the fact that you do _not _look like an idiot when doing it…"

"Hey!" Merlin said indigently. "I'm _not _an idiot. You're a cabbage-head."

Arthur grinned slightly. "Ah, stop being such a _girl _Merlin."

"I'm not a girl!" Merlin grumbled in annoyance.

"Don't listen to him Merlin," Freya spoke up, "I'm a girl and he can't call me a boy because he'll be insulting himself."

Arthur glared at her and Merlin beamed but before either of them could comment Merlin tripped and fell into the clearing that they used for practicing.

"I'm alright!" Merlin's voice called up and Arthur and Freya traded looks as the adults came into view.

"Hey Alator," Freya said turning to the warlock.

"What is it Freya?" Alator said with a smile. Out of the three she was easily the most good natured although it was Merlin who was the voice of reason.

"Is there a spell to make someone more graceful so that he or she doesn't trip as much? Or maybe a spell to just stop being clumsy." Freya said her face completely straight.

Alator let out a laugh and even Balinor let out a small chuckle. "No child," he said, "At least, not that I know of."

Freya looked mildly disappointed and Alator looked at her. "How about you and Merlin try to disarm each other?" He suggested although he knew that Merlin would disarm her eventually. He was the best at magical things, sometimes even Alator had trouble keeping up with the speed of his attacks although he hadn't lost to the warlock, yet.

Freya and Merlin both let out giant grins and they ran down the remaining portion of the gentle slope and got into position. With Freya's arm stretched out in front of her and Merlin turned to face her mirroring her position, although both of them had grins on their faces which ruined the whole picture.

Slowly the two magic users began to circle each other and Alator nodded a nod of approval as Balinor and Arthur walked up to his side. Both Freya and Merlin had lost their lighthearted grins and was now studying each other, obviously trying to figure out who was going to attack first.

Eventually Freya lost her patience and sent a fireball at Merlin who quickly jumped aside. Merlin counterattacked with a flash of blinding light and his eyes glowed bright gold briefly.

Freya and Merlin both began to combat fully, both intent on touching the other with his or hers magic. Freya sent a powerful jet of water at Merlin but Merlin skillfully blocked it with his shield. Freya let out a groan.

"Why is it you always win?"

Merlin flashed his key grin. "Your giving me a challenge, have you been practicing with that spell?" He said and Freya sent another blast of water but this time Merlin held up a hand and without saying anything a fire intercepted it so that fire and water were fighting each other for dominance.

"Maybe a little." Freya said with a small smirk and the water was abruptly cut off and Merlin's fire surge ahead and she raised her arms and water surrounded her. "You've been practicing as well I see."

Merlin shrugged slightly and called his fire back to him and Freya sent a waterball at him but he moved gracefully to one side and took a step closer to her and they began firing rapidly both weaving around in a graceful dance.

"Maybe a little," Merlin grunted and launched a fireball at her and using that to his advantage he moved toward her.

"Geeze, when has your aim gotten this good?" Freya questioned in annoyance and sent a waterball to interpret Merlin's fire and stepped closer to him as well.

Merlin smiled at her slightly and then twirled out toward the right as she sent a fireball at him and he sent a waterball back at her. The two danced around each other although Alator had noticed something.

"He's holding back…" Balinor muttered.

"He's holding _back?_" Arthur said his tone disbelieving finally taking his eyes off the pair and looking at Balinor.

Suddenly Freya let out a cry of surprise and she tripped and Merlin grinned and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. He smiled at her kindly and she shook her head but there was a tale-tell twitching of her lips as he helped her to her feet.

"You let your attention waver," Merlin said softly and none of the others heard him. Freya smiled at him slightly not really begrudging him on winning, she was far to used to it by now, plus she had improved a lot since Merlin began helping her and he gave out pointers whenever he could.

"Very impressive you two," Alator praised, "You know I think Balinor is right, your both going to be very powerful sorcerers when you grow older."

Merlin's eyes lightened and he smiled at the older warlock who he knew didn't give out praise lightly then he hesitated and turned to his father who's eyes were sparkling in humor and fatherly pride.

"Well done Merlin, Arthur how about we spar and then you and Merlin have a magical-nonmagical combat? Magic against sword, you need to learn how to defend yourself against magic." Balinor said smiling at them and the two boys exchanged excited glances.

Arthur, Merlin, and Balinor walked off and Freya turned to Alator questioningly and he smiled. "You're against me."

Freya smiled at him.

Arthur and Balinor were circling each other, their swords up and neither of whom was giving the first strike. Finally Arthur got impatient and lunged for his father who dodged swiftly and gave him an upper handed slash.

Arthur ducked and jabbed at Balinor's legs but Balinor jumped at the last moment and he thrust at Arthur who dodged at the last moment counter-acting Balinor's thrust with a swipe to the right side.

Balinor blocked it with his sword and then tried to disarm Arthur but he managed to keep his grip on his sword. Balinor tried again and the two of them began in earnest.

After about ten minutes Balinor finally managed to disarm Arthur. "Good, you're getting better." Balinor said reassuringly as Merlin walked up.

Arthur nodded and turned to Merlin with a light smile and Merlin grinned then they got into positions and Balinor stepped back to watch them.

Almost immediately Merlin sent a lightball at Arthur who rolled off to one side and came up kneeling and Merlin sent a fireball at him. Arthur blocked it somehow with his sword and sent it back at Merlin who ducked.

"I can see why I need to practice against magic," Arthur grunted and Merlin smiled slightly.

Merlin sent three lightning bolts at him and they zapped him and Arthur let out a yelp. Merlin smiled slightly and Arthur rolled his eyes and then tried to attack Merlin but Merlin instinctively pulled a shield up and electrocuted Arthur.

Arthur let out a yelp and Merlin conjured a wall of water and then he abruptly lost his concentration and looked over his shoulder and Arthur turned around and Freya (who had been saying _Forbearnan _over and over) and Balinor stopped what they were doing and gaped at the person.

"Mom?" Merlin, Freya and Arthur asked in alarm and they ran over to her in concern while Balinor followed jogging although there was a look of alarm.

"Hunith? What's wrong?" Alator and Balinor asked at the same time.

Hunith was breathing heavily and clutching her side. "Sorcerer…" she managed then caught her breath, "a sorcerer named Emrys is in the village and he's demanding for everyone to show themselves… and he's got a band of druids following him."

**Author's Note: **Yeah… I really need to stop with these cliffhangers but I'm addicted! I really do have plans for this story… *Evil grin* Anyway, it's my mom's birthday today and I'm making the cake! *Grinning happily* I'm good at doing that!


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Three_**

When Merlin, Freya, Arthur, Hunith, Balinor and Alator got to the clearing Merlin felt his sense of foreboding increase and then he saw Emrys. And stared. There was something about the man that seemed off. He was tall and heavily muscled, his dark black eyes glimmered in a cruel and unforgiving light and his brown hair was oiled back.

Suddenly the man's eyes rested on Merlin and bile came up Merlin's throat but Merlin held it back although he stared at Emrys in shock.

Then Emrys turned to the village. "I, as Emrys, come to your town requesting your allegiance to the Once and Future King to take over Camelot and the rest of Albion, to bring the golden age to you and my people, the druids." Merlin had a bad feeling that no one would really have a choice in the matter.

"Who is this… Once and Future King?" Merlin's father spoke up his tone full of suspicion.

Emrys turned to Balinor with what he probably assumed was a please smile although to Merlin it looked more like a sneer. "My brother, Aethelbert."

Aethelbert was a small man. He was hunched over making him seem even smaller and his eyes were black but shifty. His hair was a greasy blond.

"We don't want to fight," A different man spoke up and Merlin identified it as Will's father. "Cenred has made us fight in wars against our permission."

Merlin felt a sinking feeling as he saw Emrys smirk. "This is a _perfect _opportunity to show you what will happen if you refuse to help."

Emrys turned to the small girl who had been hiding behind Will's father. Her name was Emalia (who was about seven) and gestured to her. She looked scared but she walked up to him bravely, her hands clasped in front of her.

Emrys let out a chilling smirk and then his eyes flashed gold and Emalia fell to the ground clutching her head in agony and screaming in pain.

After a few moments Merlin had had enough. "Stop!" he cried and tackled Emrys but Emalia stayed on the ground panting and shivering.

He pulled Emalia up and looked at her in the eyes. "Are you alright?" He questioned then mentally cursed, of course she wasn't.

Emalia on the other hand smiled at him slightly although it was shaky. "I'm fine, thank you Merlin." She ran over to Will who grabbed her and began checking her over although he looked at Merlin gratefully.

"So…" Emrys said and Merlin looked up slightly surprised. He hadn't seen Emrys come up on him. "You're a brave one."

Merlin glared at him defiantly. "So?" He questioned. He suddenly heard a faint mutter of "Idiot." From Arthur and he almost let out a smile. Almost.

"You would be very useful in my army." Emrys responded.

Merlin carefully crafted his expression so that it was innocent. "Why would I join your army? I'm only twelve."

Emrys stared at him in shock. "Only _twelve?_ I thought you were at least sixteen boy!" He exclaimed glaring at him.

Merlin slowly raised an eyebrow, "So?" He heard a groan and correctly assumed it was Arthur. Again.

"Ah well… you can be a servant." He said glaring at him.

Merlin was about to reply when Balinor appeared. "Alright son?" he questioned softly and laid a hand on Merlin's shoulder and Merlin nodded. He turned to Emrys, "Why would he be a servant? We haven't agreed to your terms."

Emrys smirked at him, snapped his fingers, and a young druid girl appeared who looked terrified. "I am going to demonstrate one last time what will happen." He hissed through clenched teeth.

"_pín_ _híe_" Emrys said, his eyes flashed gold and the girl fell to the ground screeching in agony. Merlin's eyes widened for a moment in horror then he closed them.

"Stop… please… magic isn't…" Merlin mumbled trying to block out the girl's screams. "Hurts…" he muttered and suddenly his magic surged to protect the girl but he forced it back down.

"You see," Emrys said smirking and he turned to the people of Ealdor, "_this _will happen if you refuse."

"Stop it!" Merlin suddenly shouted unable to take her screams anymore. "It hurts!"

Emrys turned to Merlin and slowly raised an eyebrow his attention now on Merlin. "What hurts?" He questioned and Merlin felt a moment of relief when he saw the girl scramble away from Emrys, then he felt Balinor's hand on his shoulder and wondered why he had said that. He wasn't completely sure what had hurt but it had been something.

"Nothing" Merlin muttered turning his head away.

"Answer me boy!" Emrys shouted and raised his hand.

Merlin suddenly realized what was going to happen and felt his magic resurface but before he could let it loose Balinor stopped Emrys.

"Go Merlin," Balinor said softly. Merlin looked up at his father and nodded then ran over to Arthur, Freya, Hunith and Alator.

"You okay Merlin?" Arthur asked softly and Merlin nodded a small smile gracing his lips.

"We will talk about this in private." The town's leader, a man named Matthew, said and Merlin was slightly surprised about the fact that he was there. "Balinor is right, and he is my old friend."

**Spells: **_pín_ _híe_: Torture Her

**Author's Note: **I'm terrible at grammar, so I'm sure that I got the spell's grammar wrong but… whatever. I've always been that way, Latin, Chinese and English included although English grammar is easy now… thanks Latin.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Four_**

"…talking about." Will muttered dispiritedly to Merlin and Arthur. "I mean, Emrys is obviously not going to give them a choice. Alator, Balinor, Isabella and Matthew will probably try to rebel against him but in the end…"

Merlin nodded with a sigh and Arthur looked concerned as he stared out the window.

"At least none of us are old enough to fight," Freya said sighing mostly in relief although she was also sad for the others that would have to fight. "Arthur's only fifteen, your almost thirteen, I'm eleven and Will's fourteen." Merlin stood up and began to pace.

"Emrys knows something's off about me." Merlin muttered quietly. Freya crossed her arms and rubbed them.

"Merlin," Will said laughing slightly, "Everyone knows something's off about you. You might be the kindest person here but you're strange. No offence." He added seeing Merlin's raised eyebrow. Merlin shrugged and went back to pacing.

"Emrys seems to _really _hate you though," Arthur said looking out the window, "and everyone knows you can't use a sword to save your life, literately."

"I can use a pitchfork Arthur," Merlin said whacking him in the back of his head, "and cook. Which _is_ something more then you if I may say."

Arthur looked at him indigently. "Hey!" He shouted.

Merlin smirked slightly in satisfaction but before he could reply to that a druid girl appeared, the same one that Merlin had stopped Emrys from torturing. Merlin could finally get a good look at her and saw that she was young, maybe ten or eleven. She was pale, paler then Merlin himself and she had green eyes and brown hair.

"Hello," the girl said hesitantly looking scared. Arthur turned around and smiled at her gently and Merlin thought that whenever Arthur dropped the prat act he would be a good village leader.

Merlin for himself, had nightmares if he somehow became a village leader.

"Hello," Freya said smiling as well and the girl smiled at her hesitantly. "What's your name?"

The girl smiled at her softly and said, "Susan." Freya's smiled widened warmly and Merlin had a random thought that Freya was very pretty when she smiled then cast it aside almost immediately.

"I'm Freya, the tall blond _annoying_ prat-" Arthur stuck his tongue out at her and she grinned evilly, "-is my brother Arthur. The one who's sitting down with his _feet on the table _is Will." Will glared at her but removed his feet, "And the one who's pacing around is Merlin." She smiled at him and he smiled back softly but he still kept on looking out the window his brow furrowed in concern.

Freya let out a sigh. She should have known that that wouldn't have helped his worries. "Merlin," she said softly and walked over to him and laid her head on his shoulder. His hand went to her waist and she relaxed, she hadn't realized it but she had been worried as well.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Arthur. She that his usual mask was not on his face and that he looked concerned.

"He can't be the real Emrys." Merlin muttered suddenly angry. Freya and Arthur and even Will and Susan looked at him in confusion. "Magic isn't like this, he's abusing his power."

Susan looked sad, like she had thought the same thing. "We can't do anything about it. For all we could know he is the real Emrys and if we accused him then… well… let's just say that it won't be pretty. We're duty bond to anyone who calls himself Emrys, even if he is a fraud."

Freya nodded sadly like she already knew this, and considering that she's… well Freya, she probably had.

"There must be something to prove that he's not Emrys." Will said looking at her. Like the other three he had seen the good of magic and he wasn't that prejudiced against it.

Susan shrugged her shoulders sadly signaling that she did not know but Freya answered him hesitantly. "The stone of magic?"

"The stone of magic?" Arthur repeated her in confusion.

"I thought that was a myth Freya." Merlin said tilting his head at her in confusion. "Besides, if it's still around then it's been hidden."

Will and Arthur exchanged glances then shrugged and sat back and watched them, both knowing perfectly well that Merlin and Freya were about to explain themselves, or just launch into a battle of wills… which their favorite subject to start it about was magic. This was the only thing they disagreed on anything strangely enough (mainly because it was Arthur and Merlin who argued).

"Possibly," Freya said reluctantly. "But you never know. It could be in the Crystal Cave."

Merlin shook his head. "There's no way you're getting me there Freya. That crystal that I looked at was bad enough, let alone a whole cave of them. _And _the barn caught on fire, even though I tried to stop it! Freya, I hate loo-"

"What do you mean?" Susan blurted out looking at the two of them in confusion.

Arthur sighed slightly. "We found a crystal, well, more like _Mer_lin found the crystal and he saw the future. He tried to prevent it but… since then he hasn't gone near a clear rock. Or icicles."

Susan was now eyeing Merlin shrewdly but she didn't say anything.

"It doesn't matter." Freya said sighing, "You're probably right Merlin. It's probably just a my-"

"Freya, Merlin, Arthur," a different voice said and the three looked up to the weary face of Alator. The three of them plus Susan and Will instantly rose and Merlin felt his earlier sense of foreboding come back when he saw the older warlock's face.

"Alator, what happened?" Arthur questioned sharply his hand straying to his side were he usually kept his sword but it wasn't there.

"I'm going to war…" Alator said sighing, "Your father is going to stay here with your mother thankfully but… he's going to have to train new recruits... and it wasn't willingly. Emrys forced him to."

Merlin's eyes widened in horror and anger and his magic surged and the candles flickered. He managed to get it under control but Will had noticed the change of his eyes color and stared at him.

Arthur and Freya, however, felt anger rise inside of them and Arthur nearly let out a growl but he kept quiet. Freya's eyes also flashed golden but nothing happened and for a moment she was confused then she saw Alator's pointed look.

"I'm sorry…" Alator said softly.

Merlin looked at him then shook his head. "No Alator," he said just as quiet, "it wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself." And then all three surged forward and gave him small hugs.

Freya had tears flowing down her cheeks, Arthur was shaking visibly and Merlin's eyes had deep sadness in them. Even Will, who didn't think of him as family looked sad.

"Be safe Alator," Freya whispered, "if you don't come back I _will _drag you back from hell. And no one is going to stop me."

**Author's Note: **Yap. I'm currently listening to One Direction and I honestly can't remember half of what I wrote… So their ages are 11 (Freya), 12 (Merlin) and 15 (Arthur). Freya's the know-it-all of the group except on magic which is Merlin, Merlin's the most loyal who'll probably end up killing Emrys and Arthur's just… Arthur. Although he's the one who tries to look out for the other two… and that makes him very reckless… trust me... Arthur's going to get made and reveal his more kingly side soon… :D I'm gonna go back and edit it now.

**Edit: **Okay, I'm making this two chapters :P. I didn't realize how long this was until I started reading… o.O Listening to music while writing makes me lose track of what I've done… :P


	6. Chapter 6 -1 year later-

**_Chapter Five_**

_~1 Year Later~_

**_Arthur-16  
Merlin-13  
Freya-12_**

It had been one year since Emrys had taken Ealdor captive (sort of), one year since Alator had been heard from and ten months since Merlin, Freya and Arthur had taken to healing all of the abused victims.

Emrys had gone to other villages asking for them to join his army, some had been willing, and others hadn't. Ealdor had become a home base for Emrys and all the women and children under the age of seventeen stayed there and worked for Emrys. All boys and men went to war, and Merlin never heard of them again.

He looked up and around sadly, everything had changed for Arthur, Freya and himself. He, Freya and Arthur both tried to protect the others whenever they could, although Merlin had by no means forgotten about his siblings.

His sword fighting skills had improved. Somewhat. Although he had found that he was wicked with a knife and so he used a knife instead.

He grunted as he lifted the bucket full of water up and moved it to the other side of Emrys's palace, as he liked to call it, although it was no more then a grey fortress. He let out a sigh but then he heard muffled sobbing and he lifted his head in curiosity. "Hello?" Merlin called out softly. He heard the sobs stifle and he opened the door where he saw a young girl of about five cradling her arm.

She looked up her eyes wide and scared and Merlin felt his heart go out there her then he felt a stab of anger at Emrys. Never had he felt anger so deep at someone but he could feel his magic want to do something to him every time he saw Emrys. It had gotten so bad that Merlin had had to lower his head to fight it back every time he saw the sorcerer.

"It's okay," he said gently kneeling down to her level, "I won't hurt you. "

The girl smiled at him hesitantly but there was still a bit of wariness in her eyes and made Merlin's heart clench. He, Freya and Arthur had grown up to fast, a five year old shouldn't be afraid of a thirteen-year old. He silently cursed Emrys for what felt like the thousandth time that month.

"I'm Merlin," Merlin said gently as he gently touched her shoulder.

The girl's eyes followed his hand and she flinched when his hand brushed her shoulder but then she relaxed and looked up at Merlin her smile turning more genuine. "Melody." She said softly, still watching his hand.

Merlin smiled at her. "What happened to your arm?" He asked gently.

Melody looked up at him her eyes wide but she saw his gaze and she looked down again. She bit her lower lip before she said cautiously, "You won't hurt me?"

Merlin shook his head with a grim smile. "Of course not, all I want to do is heal your arm." He said gently.

Melody's eyes lost the faint glimmer of distrust and she showed him her arm. Merlin took it gently and he saw the druid marking and assumed that she was one herself. "Are you a druid?" He asked gently.

Melody's eyes widened and Merlin shook his head. "Its okay, I won't tell anyone." He felt his magic stir and rise feeding off of his want to heal the girl and he let it flow out of his hands. He heard Melody's gasp of surprise but he ignored it and concentrated on her arm.

It began to fix itself. The skin that had been broken sewed back together, her dislocated bone fixed itself and the original dirt on her face cleared.

Melody looked at him with wonder in her eyes.

"Hey," Merlin said gently, "it's all better now."

Melody eyes hadn't lost the wonder in them. "You have good magic. Like magic at my home, before Emrys came. Your magic is better then the others though. Lots better, stronger. Stronger then most big people."

Merlin smiled at her, "I've had magic all my life, although I haven't met many big people with magic, so I wouldn't know." Melody shook her head.

"You have good magic! Better then big people!" She repeated, "I found magic rock. You must come to see it." She stood up and grabbed his hand and Merlin smiled slightly and let her lead him.

She walked outside and into and forest and Merlin watched for dangers not wanting any harm to happen to Melody but she was running by now and Merlin had to jog to keep up with her.

Merlin smiled at he followed the familiar trails and he let his magic go. It had been ages since he had been able to use his magic freely. He saw the forest greenery get greener, the flowers blossomed, everything seemed to get more life in them.

Melody looked up at him. "Your magic is… el-e-men-tal." She said, pronouncing it carefully. She smiled proudly and Merlin nodded encouragingly.

"Careful," he warned, "There's a hole there and you don't want to fall into that. Arthur did once when he was nine."

Melody walked around the hole and looked up at him. "Magic is different." She said firmly, "more… natural."

Merlin smiled at her slightly but then Melody looked up and she grinned and Merlin noticed that she had lost a tooth. "There," she said and pointed, "magic stone."

Merlin looked at the stone and he felt a sense of pulling toward it. "Stone that reveals Emrys." Melody continued cheerfully. "And Once and Future King."

Merlin looked at her, tearing his gaze away from the stone. "You mean to say that the Stone of Magic is real?"

Melody nodded with a smile. "Yep, been here all this time."

Merlin frowned slightly in confusion as he stared at the rock. "Merlin?" Melody asked tugging on his sleeve, Merlin looked at her and he smiled, "What wrong?" She asked.

Merlin shook his head he knew he should probably remove his gaze from the stone but he was transfixed with it. "Hmmmmmmm?" He asked he began to move slowly to the stone his arm outstretched.

He was about to touch the stone when a voice called out, "You had better stop doing that girl."

Merlin looked up drawn out of the trance like state he had been in frightened and he saw Emrys, and he was holding Freya glaring at her with his hand raised as if to strike.

But Freya refused to cower, she was glaring at Emrys defiantly and she was holding a boy not much older then Melody behind her back and protecting him. "Don't hurt him!" She said calmly her voice edged with a hardness that Merlin had never heard before and he hoped that he would never be the receiving end of it.

But then Merlin suddenly realized that he was no longer in the woods, but in the middle of the town.

_What? _

**Author's Note: **Yep. I'm officially into this story. Lol. I'm having so much fun with this Emrys imposer thing… The next chapter should be up either today or tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter Six_**

_~No Time Skip~_

**_Arthur-16  
Merlin-13  
Freya-12_**

**(**Warning: Some BAMF!Merlin and Noble!Merlin… at least, I hope so.**)**

"What in the world is going on?" Merlin muttered under his breath then he grabbed Melody's hand and began fighting his way through the crowd trying to find Arthur or his mother. He stopped for a moment and carefully watched Emrys for further signs aggression but all he saw (well heard) was that he had lowered his hand and he was saying some cruel words to Freya (that Merlin would not repeat).

He scanned the crowd quickly and finally noticed Arthur and began to elbow his way through again, although his hand had tightened his grip on Melody's hand but she followed him trustingly.

He felt his emotions in turmoil. Confusion, due to the fact that Freya had somehow angered Emrys, curiosity at the stone which had somehow been placed in his hand, protectiveness toward Freya, Arthur, and Melody, and anger at Emrys.

Merlin finally got to Arthur and tapped him on his shoulder. Arthur, startled, spun around his hand reaching instinctively toward the hilt of his sword then he relaxed. "_Mer_lin, where the devil have you been?" He asked in a furious whisper, "I thought he got you too. He's been taking people out of here, they got Will, and Matthew, Elaine, Mum and Dad, and they were going to take Jonathan. I _thought they took you. _Do you have _any _idea how worried I was?" Arthur was breathing heavily by the time he had finished his rant. "And _now _Freya decides it's time to speak out!" He added in a slightly louder whisper, "Merlin, I really _will _kill _both _of you this! _After _we figure out how to get Freya, Mum and Dad out of this mess."

Poor Merlin was confused, he had no idea what had happened and now Arthur was going on about Emrys taking his father, mother and Freya. "What?" He muttered back, "I've only just got here. I was out in the woods with Melody and I found the Stone of Magic!" He picked Melody up and rested her on his hip so that she wouldn't get trampled over by the crowd.

Arthur glared at Merlin. "You _idiot! _You should have stayed in the woods. Now he'll know you're here, and besides, if you try to escape now you'll be killed. Emrys is taking people to kill as an 'example' of what'll happen if we don't behave. Freya was angry, she has been since this whole thing started, but now she's _really _angry. I've never seen her do something this rash before." Arthur said the fury in his tone evident, although Merlin wasn't sure if it was directed at him or Emrys. He decided it was both of them, although Arthur's anger at him was mainly worry.

"Hush, you two," a man suddenly said and the two boys looked at him, "Don't draw attention to yourselves. And what do you mean about this stone of magic young one?" he added looking at Merlin.

Merlin looked at the man. He was dressed as a druid although he was suspicious of the man but there was something about him that seemed to make Merlin trust him and so he was confused about what to do but then Melody whispered in his ear, "Okay. He's good big person. Name is Iseldir."

Merlin let his hand open and he felt a shock as he saw that the stone that had been originally just grey was now a mixture of gold, a royal blue and a majestic purple. He felt its pull again although now it was not as strong as before.

Iseldir gasped and looked at Merlin and Merlin looked away from the stone. "It was gray before, I-I don't know what happened," Merlin stuttered in shock.

Iseldir was about to say something when a startled cry of pain interrupted him and Merlin looked up and his heart nearly stopped. Emrys's form was towering over Freya, his hand was raised and Freya was scrambling back as quickly as she could.

"Freya!" Merlin and Arthur cried as one, both of them taking a step forward, Merlin's hand outstretched in front of him and Arthur's hand resting on his sword hilt.

Merlin had completely forgotten about the stone in his hand and it had fallen to the ground but Melody looked up at Merlin and he let her down and she dropped behind him and took a step back toward Iseldir.

"You will go to the stake and die, by fire!" Emrys shouted his voice slightly deranged.

"No!" Merlin shouted in fear, he had always felt different around Freya and now he felt his heart stop in fear for Freya and then he felt a surge of anger and his magic surfaced but then he was suddenly calm.

Emrys turned to looked at Arthur and Merlin and he stalked toward them, momentarily forgetting about Freya who stared in horror at Merlin. She was silently shaking her head but Merlin ignored her as Arthur pulled him (Merlin) behind his back and he drew his sword and pointed it at Emrys.

"Don't hurt her." Arthur said calmly and only Merlin could only see the anger because he knew Arthur so well. "She has done nothing wrong other then speak out to protect someone who is younger then herself."

Emrys glared at Arthur, and Merlin saw the loathing. He then saw the hatred and the anger and the derangement behind his gaze and he realized that Emrys was a madman, feeding on hatred and loathing by now. "How _dare _you speak to me commoner? I am Lord Emrys, the King of the Druids. I have defeated armies and slain thousands of beasts. I have tamed the Great Dragon, and I am immortal." He spat at Arthur.

Arthur glared at Emrys defiantly. "I might be a commoner, but I have done everything I can do to protect my village. Unlike you, _King _Emrys, I have learned that a good leader does what he believes what is the best for his people, not for his own gain. I don't care that you have slain thousands or defeated armies or that you are immortal, _someone _needs to speak up. Besides, only a Dragonlord can tame a dragon, and I know one of the last Dragonlords."

Emrys glared at him, "I am the al-"

"Oh just shut up with the whole _I-an-the-almighty-undefeatable-king-of-the-druids _thing." Arthur snapped and Merlin felt a sense of pride and affection toward him. "Haven't you gotten it? I don't _care _if you are a king. I don't _care _if you are a dragonlord. And I _certainly _don't care if you have slain armies with a twitch of your hand."

Emrys finally lost it. "_ácwellan hine." _He chanted and a blast of red light appeared out of his hand heading directly at Arthur and Merlin's eyes widened.

Merlin suddenly knew exactly what he was going to do.

Emrys had taken one step to far and he had made Merlin angry. Very, very angry. _No one _could threaten Freya _or _Arthur and get away with it. He took a deep breath and stepped out from behind Arthur with his hand outstretched and with a flash of his eyes they turned from blue to a deep powerful gold as he countered Emrys's spell wordlessly. "Neither of them are going to die Emrys." He said in a deadly calm voice once Emrys's spell had stopped but Merlin kept his hand outstretched.

Emrys stared at him in shock and maybe a little fear. "You- you- You- how _dare _you, you insolent little… thing." He shouted glaring.

Merlin glared at him and raised both his hands in front of him and advanced on Emrys his magic finally free. His eyes flashed in anger and he replied in that same deadly voice, "I would advise you shut up Emrys."

Emrys's mouth opened and closed and he looked like a fish that made Merlin wonder if he had accidently had made him lose his voice but Emrys found his voice. "You have magic!"

Merlin rolled his eyes, _why _couldn't he have thought something more original? "Obviously."

"But-but-" Emrys stuttered.

Merlin facepalmed, would it be so hard to have thought something else? "Is that all you have to say? Because you _really _don't want to make me any angrier then I am already."

Emrys finally found his voice. "Seize him," he ordered.

Merlin rolled his eyes as the guards closed in on him and, with a flash of his eyes they were all blasted back about ten feet. He hadn't even moved a muscle.

Emrys gaped at him.

"As you can see," Merlin said calmly, "I am a warlock born with magic Emrys." Then he added, "Magic isn't supposed to be used for evil, it is supposed to save."

Emrys glared at him. "Then you are to weak to use it to it's full power. Magic is to give you power, it is for yourself to use. You really must be an idiot to think it's to be used to save."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "I'm not weak, and although I've been called an idiot-" at this he glanced at Arthur who smiled slightly, "-I really am not."

Merlin had shocked Emrys into silence but he found a small amount of courage and he made a hand gesture and seven other guards appeared but they approached Merlin with their hands outstretched.

Merlin noticed their magic and he sighed, this was getting annoying. He raised both his hands and let his magic flow through them and a fire appeared out of nowhere. In the back of Merlin's mind that wasn't intent on protecting Arthur and Freya he had noticed that everyone had gone silent.

When the fire went down he saw seven sorcerers with their hair on fire and he let out a satisfied smirk before he turned back to Emrys with a raised eyebrow not even tired. "Anything else, _sire?_" He added the last part in mockery and disgust.

Emrys stared at him before he grabbed a knife and grabbed Freya who had been staring at Merlin in openmouthed awe, although she had had enough sense to take cover behind a stack of bricks. "Stop this _boy_ or I will kill your precious _love_."

Merlin felt his anger increase not really caring that Emrys had called Freya his love, some part of him, deep inside of him, had always known he hadn't looked toward Freya as a sister. It was something more. Then he locked eyes with Freya who nodded slowly knowing what was about to happen. She smiled at Merlin trustingly before shouting, "_líesing_ _mé!"_ and her eyes flashed a golden color. She kicked Emrys in the shin for good measure before she dropped to the ground and rolled her training from Balinor and instinct kicking in naturally.

She came up kneeling with her hand outstretched and she shouted at the sky, "_Bordweall him, bordweall á sylfum him!_" Water erupted from the ground and rose in a watery shield surrounding the people of Ealdor.

Merlin glared at Emrys and stalked toward him with his head held high and his figure tall. "I am Merlin Ambrosius, son of the last Dragonlord. I am the sole protector of the Once and Future King, Arthur Pendragon." His eyes flared a deep gold and although he had no idea _why _he was saying this he knew it was right, somehow. "My father is Balinor Ambrosius, the last Dragonlord. My mother is Hunith of Ealdor, and you have made me very, _very _angry."

Emrys's eyes widened but before either he or Merlin could react golden light erupted from the ground and surrounded Ealdor and Arthur's sword glowed blue as he stepped out of the water spear and the water shields that Freya had conjured dropped.

Unfortunately the wind picked up and out of nowhere appeared about twenty-five people, although each person was holding another and Merlin noticed that the one of each of them were mundane Merlin nearly sighed there was fifty, which meant Ealdor would probably need to help.

Then Merlin suddenly groaned as he realized something, of course had had to have backup.

Arthur stepped up to Merlin's side but he stared at what seemed to be the leader of the backup frowning slightly.

And then the sorcerer turned to Emrys. "What is it Emrys? You are having problems? I thought this would be easy for you." The contempt in his tone was easy to hear and Arthur rubbed his head, he _knew _he had seen him somewhere.

"I'm sorry Azure, we've got a problem. It appears that _they-_" he pointed at Freya and Merlin, "-have magic and that they have decided to rebel against me."

Suddenly a different voice spoke up and Merlin, Azure, Arthur, Emrys and Freya turned to Iseldir who had been the one who had spoken up. In his hand was the Stone in Magic and he threw it on the ground shattering it into a million pieces.

Merlin stared at the rock as the pieces began to swirl around in circles and surrounded Merlin and Arthur.

"I am sorry whoever-you-really-are," Iseldir said strongly his voice echoing around the village people, "but myself and my people follow only the true Emrys and that is not you." He turned to Merlin and nodded his head at the stunned thirteen year old. "My orders are with you milord, what are they?"

Merlin looked over at Azure and locked eyes with him and Merlin felt the rage of the sorcerer. "I'm going to take care of Emrys, someone needs to take care of Azure."

Arthur spoke up, "He's mine Merlin."

Merlin looked at him slightly confused but he nodded in acceptance. "Very well brother," he said.

And then they all turned as one and charged at Emrys.

**Author's Note: **You know… I think I got carried away with this… Oops. I was only planning to do one chapter but then I started writing… yeah… now I'm going to write one more chapter in Merlin's POV then switch over to Arthur…I so went overboard… *Facepalm* Ah well, expect more BAMF! And Noble!Merlin xD my chapters are writing themselves. I love it when that happens... *Shrugs*

**Spells: **

_ácwellan hin_e: Kill him

_Bordweall him, bordweall á sylfum him_!: Shield them, shield all of them!

(P.S. this is probably not perfect but this is a FanFiction, so I'm not expecting any rewards for this :P, if you really are an addict though then you can figure it out and send me the correct thing…)


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Seven_**

_~No Time Skip~_

**_Arthur-16  
Merlin-13  
Freya-12_**

**(**Warning: Some BAMF!Merlin and Noble!Merlin… at least, I hope so.**)**

_"__Even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes."_ –The Lightning Thief, _Rick Riordan_

* * *

_And then they all turned as one and charged at Emrys… _

Merlin ran at Emrys, blocking spells from enemy sorcerers, dodging left and right and weaving around dueling pairs, the fierce rush of energy in his veins powering him. Never had his magic felt so alive, or maybe it was the adrenaline…

"So, you're a sorcerer?" Will asked running up to him and matching him pace for pace. Merlin nearly stumbled but caught his footing in time and blocked a _færdryre hrycg _spell from a sorceress.

"Where'd you come from?" Merlin half shouted, half yelped, ducking behind a boulder and aiming a nonverbal spell at her, he smiled slightly as she began to run around with her hair on fire. "And I'm a warlock," he added.

Will rolled his eyes, "Sorcerer, warlock, whatever. You have magic! Think of all the times we could have got back at old man Simmons!" He said grumpily and clumsily parried an attacking blow from a nonmagic person.

Merlin glared at the sorcerers approaching him and they went flying back. "That's a little behind the point Will," he said turning around, "_Ástríce_" he cried and the nonmagic person (Merlin really needed to figure a new name out for them) went flying back.

"Nice," Will grunted, "seriously though, why _didn't _you tell me? And how long have you known your Emrys?"

Merlin sighed, "Will, I've only known that I'm apparently Emrys for five minutes and the reason why I didn't tell you… well, that's complicated. Dad, watch out!" He cried out and sent a wave of magic at his father.

"_Merlin?_" Balinor shouted in disbelief then he ran over dodging spells or blocking them. "What in the world happened?" He asked in bewilderment, "One moment we're about to be killed, next there's pandenomen-"

Merlin cut him off, "No time to explain," he dragged Will behind the boulder and blocked the curse aimed at them. Balinor stared at him and Merlin added quickly, "Don't ask me how I've been blocking all these spells nonverbal, apparently I'm the real Emrys. Anyways, that doesn't matter, Dad, why do the druids think that Arth-"

Will's yelp cut Merlin off and he stared at him but then felt himself fall to the ground and a spell sail right over where there heads had been. Merlin instinctively reacted and a golden shield surrounded them.

Slowly, Merlin looked up and sighed. Of course Emrys decided to attack. Merlin turned to Balinor and said hastily, "Father, Arthur's attacking Azure."

Balinor's eyes widened and he let out a string of curses and ran off, realizing what Merlin meant. Merlin watched him then turned to Will, "Get the children out of here Will, and _hurry! _I'm going to try to hold off Emrys but I'm not sure how long I can."

Will looked at him, "We're children as well Merlin, you're younger then I am myself," he said completely serious then added, "but I don't think that matters. Be careful Merlin," he added in warning then went out.

Merlin took a deep breath, _No going back now… _and stepped out. He threw up his hand and blocked three spells at once. _What…? _He thought for a moment in confusion, his magic was stronger… or maybe it had always been this strong and he had never realized it. Then, realizing that there was no time to waste, he promptly cried _"færdryre swíma!"_

* * *

Merlin dodged and blocked unfriendly spells whenever he could. He wondered vaguely if Alator would approve of using his instinctively magic as he had been trying to teach him how to use spells.

He decided that Alator might, if it was to save his life. But probably not.

Merlin had been expecting that he would be the one who found Emrys and not the other way around, well, hoped. Of course he had thought wrongly. Emrys had found him. He had been blocking an unfriendly spell when suddenly a blast of fire surprised him.

He let out a yell of surprise and dropped to the ground clutching his upper arm and looking at the now red skin. Merlin let out a string of curses and looked up from his arm and looked between the two sorcerers who were now advancing on him.

He looked around desperately and saw the small stream of water. His mind at a blank for other ideas and his arm burning from the fire he let his magic free.

A water shield, not unlike the ones Freya had conjured, followed his hand and stood up like a block wall and just in time too. For Emrys and the sorcerer had chanted in union "_Forebearnen._"

Fire and water met, creating an explosion and Merlin, holding his shield of water up with only one hand, threw up his burned one instinctively, trying to hold his water against the conjured fire.

Under normal circumstances it would be difficult as he had barely managed to make a two foot wall. Now, it was nearly impossible, for Merlin had been weakened from weeks of malnourishment and his burned arm had fallen back to his side.

Merlin let out a gasp of pain and his concentration broke and the water-wall fell down. The fire surged forward and Merlin threw himself behind the rock.

The fire parted around the rock and the intense heat hit Merlin full force, although luckily, he didn't get burned. When it stopped Merlin stepped out from behind the rock and shielded himself with fire.

It didn't hurt him but the other sorcerer screamed in fear and fled and Emrys took a step back. Merlin glared at him.

"Well, well, _Merlin_" Emrys said a sneer on his face when he said his name, "You _do _have magic, although it's no match for mine. _Forbærne yfel!_"

Merlin watched as the ring of fire surrounded him and his arm raised of its own accord and he cried out not sure what he was saying but the fire died down and returned to the ground. "_Really?_" Merlin muttered under his breath, "fire? That's the easiest to control."

Emrys stared at Merlin his mouth agape before he shouted "_Svelt, Merlin!_"

Merlin had no idea what Emrys had just said when a huge chunk of rock appeared out of nowhere. Merlin, realizing that it heading directly at him, decided that being killed by a chunk of rock would be a _very _painful death and he cried out his hands in front of him: "_Bordweall!_"

A golden shield appeared and blocked all the rocks from killing Merlin.

Emrys glared at him and he cried out, "_Svelt, Emrys!_"

Merlin instinctively raised his shield again and he blocked all the rocks it they did not only went after Merlin, they went after Emrys as well. Emrys let out a cry of fear and pain and then he fell to the ground with a thump.

Merlin stared at the body of the sorcerer in shock. Then he turned around and let out a relieved sigh. Arthur and Freya were walking over, both of them looking a little worst for wear but not to badly injured.

"Hello Merlin," Arthur said wearily, "Azure escaped."

And then he passed out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So… how was this? This was really one of my first battle scenes that I have ever written so I'm not sure if it was good or bad… Oh and Emrys killed himself xD. I'm not sure why I'm happy about that… maybe I've been spending to much time on this chapter… ah well… next chapter is Arthur's fight with Azure and then another time skip.

_færdryre hrycg: _Fall back

_færdryre swíma: _Fall Unconscious

_ Ástríce_: Strike

_Forbærne yfel: _I burn you, moral evil! (Series 1, episode 6)

_Forebearnen: _Fire. (I honestly can't remember when this spell came in… you'll just have to figure it out yourself xD)

_Svelt, Merlin:_ Die violently, Merlin!

_Bordweall_: Shield!


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter Eight_**

_~No Time Skip~_

**_Arthur-16  
Merlin-13  
Freya-12_**

Darkness. Pitch, black darkness. His first thought was, _you idiot Merlin. _Merlin had probably knocked him out somehow and now he was stuck.

He suddenly wondered if he was dead. Then he decided that no, he was not. He had conscious thoughts. Then he wondered what the hell had happened. He remembered fighting. _Yes, _he thought in approval, _there was a battle. _But why?

He thought harder and remembered something. A man, a boy and a girl, the girl had pushed the boy behind her back and she glared at the man. _Freya. _Was his thought, but who was Freya?

_Suddenly, a black hair girl stood, she was about seven but her eyes told her that she was scared. Although her chin was raised in defiance as she glared at him and another boy_. _"Don't come closer or you'll regret it." She had said stubbornly. _

_"Why not?" He heard himself asked and he realized that even though he had only said two words they sounded arrogant, even to his own ears. _

_"I'm cursed," the girl had said, "everyone fears me. For what I was born with." _

_The boy next to him looked at the girl, "Magic?" he asked in confusion. The girl glared at him but she nodded, albeit sadly, it was true. "It's okay," the boy said smiling at her and he knelt down, "I'm not afraid. What's your name?" _

_"Merlin," he heard himself say again, "be careful." Merlin glared at him and he felt ashamed as the girl looked down. _

_Merlin turned to the girl, "It's okay," he said with a smile and he grabbed her hands, "He's just being a prat like always. I'm Merlin." _

_The girl smiled hesitantly, "And I'm Freya." _

Well, at least he knew who the girl was but who was the man that Freya had been protecting the little boy from?

_…I, Emrys, come to your town requesting your allegiance to the Once and Future King to take over Camelot and the rest of Albion, to bring the golden age to you and my people, the druids… _

Well, apparently the man was called Emrys, but why did that name spark anger in him? As well as uncertainty?

_"He is not the real Emrys… but we cannot do anything to prove it." A girl said and he turned and saw Merlin and Freya, although they both looked older. _

_"There has to be something to reveal the true Emrys." Merlin said, his voice full of hesitance but a quiet confidence as well. _

_It was Freya who answered him, "There is. The Stone of Magic." _

_Merlin tilted his head, "But isn't that a myth? I mean…" _

Well, now he understood the anger, but why the uncertainty? He was sure that Emrys had proved himself to be evil…

_…Pieces of a stone, circled around Merlin, a golden aura surrounding him as he tried to stare at the pieces stunned_

_"I am sorry whoever-you-really-are," A man said strongly, "but my people and I follow only the true Emrys and that is not you." He turned to Merlin and nodded his head at the stunned boy. "My orders are with you milord, what are they?" _

Well. That _was _stunning. Now he knew that he _was_ dead. He didn't care if he wasn't, all the facts logically told him that _Merlin _was not Emrys. He would be a walking disaster if he was. _Oh wait, _he thought, _Merlin already _is _a walking disaster… _

Wait. Why _was _he dead in the first place?

_…"I know you!" He accused the bald man with black eyes, now positive he had seen him before. _

_The man smirked, "Why I thought Balinor would have told you, I am Azure."_

_He felt himself raising an eyebrow, "The mermaid?" _

_Azure glared at him. "No. Me. I stole you from your original home Arthur Pendragon." _

_Arthur stared at him, "No," he said, "I'm Arthur Ambrosius, I'm… I'm not a Pendragon." He said shaking his head firmly, refusing to believe it. _

_"And yet the stone does not lie, you are the Once and Future King." Azure said smirking. _

_Arthur glared at him, "I'm not a Pendragon." He said firmly then raised his sword and attacked Azure. _

Arthur felt himself go into shock. _So… my name is Arthur? _He thought,_ There is no way I am related to Uther Pendragon. He's a tyrant _and _he's a hypercritic. My father is Balinor, and I am not related to Uther Pendragon… _

Arthur felt relief as he convinced himself he was not in anyway related to Uther (in fact, it was laughable that he had even _thought _that, he truly was a prat), then he looked around. It was getting gray. _I wonder how long I've been asleep… _

Then he grinned, Merlin was finally going to explain what the heck had happened! He began to walk toward the light but then he stopped, _why should I walk when I can force it to come to me? _

He smirked (rather evilly, it was true) and sat down and crossed his arms like a pouting child. There was no way that he was going to _walk _to the light. Arthur almost giggled when the light brightened, as if in annoyance, and went away leaving him with just black.

He sighed, he had made the light mad. Maybe he should have walked into it… then he frowned. He wanted to go back.

Arthur sighed again and closed his eyes. A little nap couldn't hurt him, right? He tried to keep his eyes open, looking for the light.

Of course he kept on dozing off.

He wanted to go home! Oh so badly, but he was so tired…

_No. _He told himself firmly and tried to pinch himself but he didn't feel anything. He sighed and stretched and then settled back down.

He tried to put himself in an uncomfortable position.

That didn't work.

He fidgeted. Finally he cursed and said "It doesn't matter anymore, if I see the light again I'll wake up," he finally grumbled and closed his eyes.

_Then _he fell asleep.

**Author's Note: **The Next Chapter is the Epilogue :D (Which had been originally a part of this chapter then I decided to make it an epilogue…) Yeah. The story's ending is abrupt… I was originally going to make it longer. Ah well, this _is _the perfect place to start a new story xD.


	10. Chapter 10 (Epilogue)

**_Epilogue _**

_"Is he going to be alright?" _

_"I don't know Emrys, it's a miracle he's even alive with that wound. It was supposed to be a mortal one. I have to say, he's very lucky to still be alive." _

* * *

_"__Hullo Freya."_

_"Hi Merlin, is there any change?" _

_"No, stupid prat, getting himself mortally wounded. Freya, when he wakes up remind me to turn him into a toad. That way he will stop getting himself mortally wounded. Well, that and the fact that he won't be able to talk…"_

_"Okay Merlin, whatever you say." _

* * *

"You really are a prat Arthur," Arthur heard someone sigh. "Getting yourself mortally wounded like that."

Arthur heard someone else shuffle, "Merlin," a feminine voice said and although it sounded exasperated there was a fond edge to it. "Arthur will wake up. His life isn't in danger any longer."

Arthur stayed quiet although he was smiling inwardly. "I know Freya, it's just… he's an idiotic prat! Forget what he says about _me _being the idiot. _He's _the real idiot."

"Oh Merlin," Arthur heard Freya sigh, "_You _went after Emrys. I'd say both of you are idiotically brave."

Arthur had to bite back a chuckle. "Freya." He heard Merlin grumble and he heard the shuffling of footsteps.

"Merlin." She replied in a slightly sing-song voice.

Merlin paused for a moment and then he sighed, "What am I going to do with you?" Arthur opened his eyes slightly and noticed that Merlin had stood up and was looking at Freya in her eyes.

Freya smiled easily, "Oh I don't know," she said. She reached out and gently cupped his cheek. "Just remember I'll always be here for you." She smiled at him and walked out the door.

Arthur finally spoke up, "_Mer_lin." He said fully opening his eyes, "I'm alive."

Merlin spun around his eyes widening in shock before he grinned. "Oh that's good," he said casually, "Because I really would hate explaining to Alator what happened when he gets back."

Arthur frowned. "Idiot."

Merlin grinned, "Prat."

"Girl."

"Dollophead."

"Merlin?"

"Shut up?"

"Right on."

~_Finished_~

**Author's Note: **Well… that was officially the fastest I've ever written a FanFiction. Oh, and don't worry, I'm _definitely_ going to do a sequel. What with Arthur being in denial, the druids… Uther… Balinor… Azure… Yep. The Calling of Destiny will be out sooner or later. :D


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